European cap-and-trade system riddled with fr

[Pseudo Intellectual]

Fox News

In a statement released last week, the Europol police agency said Europe’s cap-and-trade system has been the victim of organized crime during the past 18 months, resulting in losses of roughly $7.4 billion. The agency, headquartered in the Netherlands, estimated that in some countries up to 90 percent of the entire market volume was caused by fraudulent activities.

“These criminal activities endanger the credibility of the European Union Emission Trading System and lead to the loss of significant tax revenue for governments,” Rob Wainwright, Europol’s director, said in a statement…

“This is the problem with politicians trying to create a market for something that the free market otherwise doesn’t value,” Schulz said. “An emissions trading market is an artificially, politically-created market….

“If we pass a system like Europe has, we’re going to get all the problems Europe has experienced,” he said. “You’re asking for a lot of problems.”

[questionmark]

Ah,typical Fox News, they found two jokers defrauding two governments and a damage of less than 2 million (with a trade volume of several billion) and they cry:Does not work! Well,got news for them...they should get rid of Wall Street and the Chicago Stock exchange too...the fraud volumina there are way higher than the cap and trade scheme.

Now,if Fox would be interested in News instead of Opinion they would have seen that the frauds occurred in the trans-border trading taking advantage of the different VAT (Value Added Tax)levels in Europe. But that is also done with pork halves or grain.

[questionmark]

For those actually interested in the story and not Fox Opinion:

Fraudulent Emissions-Trading Schemes Rob German Tax Authorities

The Kyoto Protocol introduced a scheme for trading emissions certificates as a way to help reduce CO2 emissions. German tax authorities are now investigating almost 40 companies that traded certificates for allegedly taking advantage of loopholes in sales tax laws to bilk the taxman out of hundreds of millions of euros.

German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen has hardly been in office for much more than a month, but he's already choosing his words for dramatic effect. "It's about the way we live, and it's about survival," Röttgen said last Thursday before the German parliament, the Bundestag, referring to the climate summit beginning Monday in Copenhagen. At the summit, the nations of the world will search for ways to reduce the CO2 emissions behind global warming. One of the tools to be discussed is the trading of emissions certificates.

In Germany, though, it is precisely this instrument that is causing a huge headache for Röttgen, as dozens of tax offices across the country are investigating shady emissions trading companies. All of the companies in question maintain accounts with the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt), an arm of the ministry Röttgen heads. According to DEHSt head Hans-Jürgen Nantke, since September, his agency has "received official requests for assistance in cases relating to suspected sales tax fraud from various regional tax offices and tax investigation offices."

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